Empty home insurance is priced mostly on one risk: a house with no heating and nobody in it, in a cold snap. Water expands as it freezes, a joint or a pipe gives way, and when the thaw comes the water runs until somebody notices. In an occupied house that is an afternoon's annoyance. In an empty one it can run for a fortnight and take the ceilings with it.
Why frost damage is the defining claim
The failure happens while the pipe is frozen and the damage happens when it thaws, which means the loss begins after the weather has already passed. Nobody is there to hear it. The water finds the lowest point in the building and stays there. The repair involves drying, which is slow, and replastering, which is slower. It is the most expensive routine claim in residential property and it is almost entirely preventable.
The two ways insurers let you prevent it
Keep the heating on at a minimum temperature throughout the colder months, commonly a low but continuous setting rather than a timed one, or drain the system down completely and turn off the water at the stopcock. Both are accepted; the choice is yours and depends on whether the house has a working boiler and somebody to check it. Doing neither is the condition breach that defeats the claim.
Draining down properly
Turning the water off at the stopcock is not draining down. A proper drain down empties the system, including the heating circuit where it is not filled with antifreeze, and isolates the supply. It is a plumber's job on most houses and it costs a fraction of a single burst pipe claim. Where there is a sprinkler or a wet fire system, it must not be drained without telling the insurer.
What else the winter conditions usually require
Gutters and downpipes clear, because an overflowing gutter in freezing weather does its own damage. Loft insulation not blocking pipe runs, and pipes in unheated spaces lagged. External taps isolated. Inspections continuing through the winter rather than pausing, because a fortnightly visit in January is worth more than one in June.
Questions people ask about empty home insurance
Should I leave the heating on in an empty house?
Either that, at a low continuous setting through the colder months, or drain the system down entirely. Most policies require one or the other as a condition.
Is turning the water off enough?
No. Turning off the stopcock leaves water in the pipes to freeze. A proper drain down empties the system as well as isolating the supply.
What temperature should the heating be set to?
Policies commonly state a minimum, often around a low but continuous setting rather than timed. The figure is in the wording and should be followed exactly.
Does the policy pay if a pipe bursts anyway?
If the condition was met and escape of water is a covered peril, yes. If the heating was off and the system was not drained, expect the claim to be declined.